ARUA Quarterly Newsletter Issue 1 Quarter 1
This inaugural issue of ARUA Quarterly brings together four interconnected strands of work that demonstrate how ARUA is building research capacity, generating evidence, and translating knowledge into impact across the continent.
The feature story showcases the ARUA Early Career Researchers Fellowship Programme as a flagship capacity-strengthening initiative. The fellowship provides earlycareer researchers with six months of protected time for research, mentorship, and skills enhancement within ARUA’s Centres of Excellence and Clusters of Research Excellence. With an ambitious goal of supporting 150 fellows over four years—70% women—the programme has successfully launched its first cohort and convened a regional workshop that built competencies in proposal development, research translation, intellectual property, publishing, and career planning. It underscores how the programme is nurturing a new generation of research leaders aligned with Agenda 2063.
In Section 2, we showcase ARUA’s Capacity and Skills Development Initiatives. The U21 Mid-Career Researcher Programme focuses on leadership development, global networking, and strategic career advancement for mid-career academics. The Europe– Africa Fellowship on Translational Research for Priority Diseases strengthens Africa– Europe collaboration on Mpox and Lassa fever, deepening translational research skills, regulatory engagement, and contributions to health sovereignty. Together, these initiatives demonstrate ARUA’s commitment to excellence, collaboration, and impactful leadership across career stages.
Section 3 highlights ARUA in the marketplace—disseminating research at conferences, engaging in policy dialogues, and forging strategic partnerships. From early-career researchers presenting at international conferences to ARUA’s participation in Africa’s vaccine sovereignty agenda through ACHIEVE Africa, and exploratory partnerships with the DAAD and the Inter- and Transdisciplinary Alliance, this section demonstrates ARUA’s active role in translating research into influence and building alliances that matter.
Section 4 illustrates how ARUA’s vision is operationalised through its 13 Centres of Excellence and 22 Clusters of Research Excellence, with a spotlight on the Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Food Systems (ARUA-SFS). It highlights ARUA-SFS’s hub-andspoke partnerships, integrated impact areas, and flagship collaborations—FSNet-Africa, CaBFoodS-Africa, and CoRE-SFS. The profile of Dr. Ruth Lorivi Moirana, one of the ARUA Early Career Researchers hosted at the centre, demonstrates how these structures create opportunities for emerging scholars and deliver solutions for sustainable food systems.
On the ARUA Noticeboard, we bring to your attention upcoming opportunities and events that offer pathways for further engagement across the ARUA network.
We invite you to engage with this inaugural issue for insights, inspiration, and opportunities— and to join us in shaping future editions by sharing your own stories, achievements, and ideas from across the ARUA network.